Thompson begins "The Year of the Pig" by writing that although no one from the White House has yet been arrested for involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal that will likely change when Congress returns to session next week. Thompson believes that Reagan's actions in the next few weeks will reveal if he is dumb, stupid, or crazy, as those are the only options aside from retirement.

Thompson advises Reagan to retire in "Mixup at the Hospital" and claims to do so with affection for Reagan. Thompson sees Mitchell Daniels, the architect of the Republican campaign in the 1986 Congressional elections on television, and Daniels claims that there is no major problem for the Republican Party, but Thompson believes the party has already exploded.

One of Thompson's sources calls him at the beginning of "The Gizzard of Darkness" to say that head of the CIA William Casey is not...